A behind the scenes look at film and television Prop making peppered with everything else creative we do!

When I lent my services to a collegue who was working on a film about 12 years ago, I was introduced to the world of cnc. I remember watching this huge machining centre milling out a slab of mdf and turning it into a fantastic set of gears. I knew that it would have taken me hours to achieve the same thing with traditional power tools. I decided then that I would invest in a cnc router for my own business Oxenham Design. At that time I could turn on a computer, but even to check email seemed like a crazy set of operations. I persevered and learned every piece of relevant software I could get my hands on. I am now fortunate enough to be using Vectric's ASPIREsoftware, and Techno cnc routers, which has helped us to create some amazing projects, both in part, or in full. I thought that this blog would be a great place to share "behind the scenes" adventures with the software, materials and equipment we use, as well as the projects we build.

Thursday, 12 March 2015

Toot....Toot...

Oh, the train parts are flying off the cnc now! Partly because our Techno is very fast, and partly because some of them weren't held down very well!!

The main chassis assembly got glued and screwed together. I'm not sure if I stated it before, but the Stettler train is all black, so we decided to fabricate all the parts from black pvc. Were pretty much using 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" black.

And while the chassis was being glued, even more parts came up ready to use!

It wasn't long before there was some sort of semblance to train pieces. When I designed the chassis, and all of the parts that go with it, I designed everything to have slots, tabs, and pocket holes. This way, I didn't have to waste much time aligning pieces. They would automatically fit right where they were supposed to!

I made the wheels oval, and slightly tilted forward, giving a sense of speed to our little train. I'm really digging the way it's all starting to come together, and fast.

This is pretty much the end of line for the wheel details. I tiny bit more, but for the most part, The chassis is almost complete!
My plastic order should be in tomorrow, so I'll be able to get started on the cab, and coal car!

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About Me

Jamie is the owner of Oxenham Design, a full service props and miniatures company. Jamie designs/ builds for the film, television and advertising industry, as well as creates highly creative 'over the top' dimensional signage.
Running the company for over 10 years with his wife and partner Jody, they are fortunate to work on exciting and creative projects.
For more information you can find Jamie on Facebook, visit the website www.oxenhamdesign.com or follow his blog.